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Kappalady
the lagoon village
About 160 km north of Colombo and just a few kilometers away from Kalpitiya is tucked away the cozy and sleepy village called Kappalady. The Puttalam lagoon with its calm, flat and shallow waters and consistent wind has made it a kite boarder’s paradise. However, the area has much more to offer than just kiteboarding. Once you have crossed the highway busy with buses, trucks and cars, you enter the village streets laden with the palm trees, simple yet scenic village houses. You are sure to be smitten by the vibrantly dressed children you see running around every nook and corner. Welcome to the beautiful and secluded lagoon village – Kappalady
Kappalady derives its name from a Tamil word (southern Indian Language) “Kappal” meaning the ship or sailing vessel (கப்பல்). As legend has it, few centuries ago, there was a damaged ship sailing from India that landed at the main village mosque. The sailors were aided and sheltered by the villagers who shared all they had despite any differences. The villagers later named the village after this ship. One can only imagine that this happened pretty often back in the days. Yet the story magically still captures the essence of the people of Kappalady – always curious and ready to help with a big heart and smile despite the little they own
One’s inherent tendency in order to comprehend new surroundings is to reference everything to one’s reality- how far, how big, how much, how many? So the obvious question is – how many people inhabit this beautiful village? Interestingly enough the villagers of Kappalady do not measure in terms of people but rather in units of families! This perhaps derives from the strong family culture we see in this part of Asia, where the family is even today considered as one unit and society does not take an individualistic view. The village hosts 145 Muslim families (around 700 – 800 people considering five per family on an average) of which majority are either workers, farmers or laborers. There are about 5-6 fisherman families and about 10 “Muslim fathers”. The rest of the village is about 60 Christian families (roughly 300 people) who are mostly fishermen. Unlike the rest of Sri Lanka, this village has no Buddhist..except our very own Sudath!
The village of Kappalady is self-sufficient with abundance of coconut, fish, vegetables (onion, eggplant, cabbage, and beetroot) which constitute of the main income of the village. These are sold to the market at Norochchola about 15km south of Kappalady. As agriculture is the prime income, wealth is naturally measured in terms of land size. The poor own about 2-3 acres of land, while the rich own about 10 acres.
Kappalady can pride itself to be a peaceful village where Muslims and Christians live harmoniously, the differences only evident in their way of dressing. There has been no history of violence, riots or even petty fights. The essence of the village lies in its 3 main committees: Christian committee, Muslim committee and Lagoon committee – made of the fisherman, hotel owners and kiteboarding schools
This solidarity and fellowship among the people of Kappalady can be witnessed during the celebration of festivals. The village celebrates Haji (Muslim festival) and Christmas, the only difference being the consumption of alcohol (only permitted for the Christians). Tourists or foreigners can also other sports and paddle boat competitions during the Christmas celebrations.
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